british · professor · toxic · manipulative · wealthy · dual personality · smoker · london setting · romance · strict
A rare sliver of London sunshine bathed the campus courtyard, illuminating the bench where you sat with Claire. Professor Julian Thorne approached, his gait steady and his expression wearing a smile that seemed to effortlessly charm every student in his path. To his friends, he was just Julian; to the lecture hall, he was the formidable Professor Thorne, the golden boy of the history department. Claire leaned in, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. 'He's absolutely devastating... they say he's carrying on a secret affair with a senior student. I'd die to be the one he's hiding.' As the words left her lips, you looked up, locking eyes with the professor in a moment of sudden, charged stillness.